Features

Every NHS hospital has agreed to reduce sales of sugar-sweetened drinks to 10% or less of their total drinks sales. NHS England introduced cash rewards for those that hit the target last year, and more and more trusts have signed up since. The latest data shows that the proportion of drinks sold on NHS premises…

Health, social media and effective campaigning are driving the shift to meat-free and flexitarian diets, explains Roisin Monaghan from Pragma Consulting. Over a quarter of meat-eating Brits have reduced or limited their meat consumption in the last six months, and since 2016 sales of meat-free products have jumped 4% to £559m and are projected to…

One in two chefs (51%) has added vegan options to their menus this year, up from 31% in 2017, according to research by Foodable Labs. The research, which is referenced here but does appear on Foodable’s website, also found that 62.7% of food influencers are looking for more plant-based delivery options. The business insights company…

A diet of fruits, vegetables, nuts, plant-based food and fish, typical of a traditional Mediterranean diet, could help lower the risk of depression, according to new research. Researchers from the UK, Spain and Australia analysed data from 41 studies, and found a “clear pattern” that following a healthier, plant-rich, anti-inflammatory diet can help in the…

More than two thirds (68%) of Brits have not eaten a single green vegetable in at least a week, whilst 4% haven’t done so in a month or more. The poll of 1,500 adults, conducted by Organic UK, also showed the average Brit eats only three of the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables…

Adding calorie counts to menus will make eating out more regulated, more systematic, and just a tad more miserable, says Sara Petersson. Today over 60% of the UK population is overweight or obese. These are worrying statistics. Perhaps in a utopian world (where all food comes out of a single cookie cutter and everyone makes…

The evidence is clear on the need to reduce our meat consumption, which is why environmental charity Hubbub has launched a series of campaigns to showcase the appeal of plant-based protein. By Tessa Tricks. We need to talk about animal protein. At the current rate, global consumption of meat and dairy is predicted to double…

The B side: innocent’s CEO Douglas Lamont speaks to Amy Fetzer about beating the market, embracing failure, tackling plastics and not getting too big for their boots AF: You already have a reputation as a responsible business. With budgets tight in foodservice, can continuing to invest in sustainability really help to beat the market? DL:…

The prime minister is proposing mandatory labelling in restaurants – but where’s the evidence for it, and how will it work? By David Burrows. Dear Prime Minister, I write in response to your consultation, launched last week, on the introduction of calorie labelling across the out-of-home sector. This is part of your…

An end to the sale of energy drinks to children moved a step closer last month. What’s happened and is this good news? DON’T READ THE LABEL. Under current EU labelling rules, any drink, other than tea or coffee, that contains over 150mg of caffeine per litre requires a warning label saying: “High caffeine content.…